


remember when it rained

by WishingTree



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/F, partially sentient rain?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-18
Updated: 2018-12-18
Packaged: 2019-09-22 06:18:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,822
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17054753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WishingTree/pseuds/WishingTree
Summary: “But oh, when it rains on Azalidon, the stories the universe tells.” She sounded delighted, almost reverent in a way. “It only happens during emotionally charged moments, times when there’s such an outpouring of positive emotions that it actually affects the fabric of the planet’s atmospheric makeup. The feelings have to be so strong that they can… that they can fill the sky. If it rains here, all nearby know that, someone, somewhere… ishappy.”In which they visit a new planet, learn some rain facts, and find a shiny rock. The Doctor and Yaz are happy.





	remember when it rained

**Author's Note:**

> Title from the song of the same name by Josh Groban;

Yaz stuck her head out of the TARDIS doors, noting the lilac sky and open field stretching out before her. The buildings in the distance more resembled vertical submarines than anything she was used to, and she could see some sort of gathering around them, an event not too far away.

“So where are we this time?” she asked over her shoulder, the excitement of landing on a new planet still present after all this time travelling through time and space. She didn’t think it would ever really fade.

Somebody tapped at her back, a series of quick pats that could only belong to the Doctor, and Yaz obligingly moved out of the way, grinning at the eager way she was waving her hands.

“Welcome to Azalidon!” the Doctor exclaimed, bouncing out of the TARDIS enthusiastically and spinning back to face them with her arms spread. “Not the biggest in any respect, nor the smallest actually, but a wonderful place all the same!” 

“Looks nice,” Graham commented, following Yaz out, and Yaz hummed in agreement. The air was fresh, smelling faintly of daisies and orange, and Yaz smiled.

“It’s almost identical conditions to Earth, Azalidon,” the Doctor told them brightly, hands now on her hips, “Similar air, similar lifespans of the people, similar food! Similar sports, actually, you’d be surprised how universal badminton seems to be in this corner of the galaxy.” 

Yaz huffed a laugh, turning her gaze away from the blue–green grass and back to the ever–entrancing Doctor, and she watched as she shook some blonde hair out of her eyes and held up a finger.

“One thing,” she said, and that was the exact moment Ryan tripped on his way out of the TARDIS. But when Yaz lunged forward to catch him, she fell completely short, because he didn’t start falling the way he was supposed to, and she didn’t reach nearly as far as she meant to. Instead, he pinwheeled his arms and stumbled only a step forward, while she simply tipped over and landed hard on her knees, both hands shooting out to catch herself. 

Graham and the Doctor both hurried over to help them up, the Doctor’s hands gentle on Yaz’s arms until she was standing properly again, and when it was clear they were both unharmed, the Doctor took a step back and swept her arms out again. 

“The gravity,” the Doctor said in a hushed whisper, eyes shining with wonder, “It’s different from your planet, alters itself due to the changing targynl vessels. An amazing feat, really, to be able to readjust so quickly.” 

“It just… changes?” Yaz queried, rubbing at her knee and shaking her head to try and clear the strange feeling of falling at the wrong speed, and the Doctor nodded.

“You can feel the difference when you move, and when you fall, and when you run, and jump, and dance, and…” She trailed off and shrugged, “Well, you get the point.

“It’s usually higher of sorts… except for when it rains. It’s lower then, though nobody knows exactly why.” 

“Seems a little unnecessary,” Ryan muttered, adjusting his jacket, and Graham clapped him supportively on the shoulder.

“Very unnecessary! Of course, there’s loads of other things that factor into it,” the Doctor rambled on, “Density of the atmosphere, air resistance, cloud levels, all of it has a role, no matter how small. But oh, when it _rains_ on Azalidon, the stories the universe tells.” She sounded delighted, almost reverent in a way. “It’s less a phenomenon of weather here and more… more of an _event_.”

“What kind of event?” Yaz asked, drifting after her as she began to move around, and the Doctor made an excited noise.

“It only happens during emotionally charged moments, times when there’s such an outpouring of positive emotions that it actually affects the fabric of the planet’s atmospheric makeup. The feelings have to be so strong that they can... that they can fill the sky.” She took a deep breath, eyes shining as her hands moved in front of her in a sweeping gesture. “An actual physical representation of joy, of the ultimate burst of positive emotions. If it rains here, all nearby know that, someone, somewhere… is _happy_.”

“…Sounds beautiful,” Yaz murmured, and the Doctor beamed at her, eyes crinkling as she nodded.

“It’s slower than Earth, too. You lot ever seen rain fall in slow motion? Like that. And sometimes, if you stare, it looks like it’s falling upwards. Oh, how magnificent.” She tilted her head up to the sky and took a deep breath, letting her eyes slip shut. “It glitters, and people say it’s one of the purest things they’ve ever experienced.” 

“So are we going to see them then? The rains of Azalidon?” Graham asked, his hands tucked into his pockets as he shared a smile with Ryan and Yaz.

At that the Doctor stopped and scrunched her face up, looking just the slightest bit guilty. 

“I wasn’t aiming for Azalidon, I was actually trying to get us to the second star system over?” She tapped two fingers together and smiled weakly at them. “Didn’t do my research, or else I would’ve tried landing us during one of the recorded rainfalls, sorry Graham.”

“Ah, that’s alright, Doc,” he waved a hand good-naturedly, “Plenty to see regardless.” 

“Exactly! It’s no matter! I’m sure we can find something to do. Just over there, in fact, they’ve got a lovely festival on around this time, famed for the baking competitions and celebratory meals.” 

Ryan and Graham perked up at the mention of food, both obviously eager for a snack, and Yaz smiled affectionately.

“Yeah, we should go check that out,” Ryan said, straightening and pointing at a distant cluster of buildings, “You said that way?” 

The Doctor nodded and they both hustled off, calling back that they’d meet up with them in a bit by the entrance.

“Want to go explore the festival with them, Yaz?” the Doctor asked as she approached, swinging her arms back and forth, “I’ll be sure not to get us run out before dessert this time!” 

With the Doctor so close to her, Yaz could smell something ever–familiar but so foreign, honey-sweet and warm, though she didn’t know if it was the scent of her shampoo, or her alien laundry detergent, or maybe just _her_. 

“Absolutely, but let’s – why don’t we take our time to get there?” she laughed, tilting her head towards their retreating backs, “It’s lovely out, I’d love to just take everything in.” 

The Doctor nodded agreeably, skipping forward a couple steps before settling on her heels and waiting for Yaz to catch up, and Yaz didn’t mention that half the appeal was taking it all in with her.

“So, this rain,” Yaz began, both as a way to distract herself before she did something truly embarrassing and because it really was very interesting, “Is it sort of, a little raincloud over whoever is happy, or does it just start raining everywhere?” 

“Depends on the strength of the emotions,” the Doctor said genuinely, “Of course, the more people involved, the farther the rain spreads, but even just a handful can have extraordinary results.”

“Pretty amazing,” Yaz murmured. “I like that. Physical results of happiness.” 

“‘Course you do!” The Doctor sighed contently, drawing her arms in and hugging them around herself, “You’re a right wonderful person, you are, of course you like it! I was hoping you’d like it, but I also knew you would! I know things, plenty of things.” 

Yaz laughed, throwing back her head and feeling the warm happiness that so often filled her when she was with the Doctor spiraling in her chest. When she glanced over, the Doctor was staring at her with wide eyes, something indescribable on her face, and Yaz tilted her head.

She opened her mouth to ask what was wrong, but then the Doctor promptly tripped over something. Looking startled, she flailed her arms before catching her balance, and Yaz reflexively held her elbow until she was steady.

“Whoops,” the Doctor said absently as she turned and squinted at the ground, and then she brightened at whatever she found, crouching down to pick through the grass.

“What’ve you got there?” Yaz asks lightly, entertained at the way she was examining it, and the Doctor shot her an impish grin.

“A rock! Shiny rock, look!” she jumped up and thrust her palm out to show it to Yaz, now with a silly grin on her face, “Love a shiny rock, me. So shiny. Especially Azalidon rocks! Brilliant.” 

It was indeed a shiny rock, shimmering in the gentle sunlight, and Yaz stared at it in awe when she saw the way the colours were dancing across the surface.

The Doctor stepped forward and gently caught Yaz’s wrist, bringing her hand up and pressing the rock into her palm before curling her fingers around it, and Yaz tried not to think as she moved her free hand to take one of the Doctor’s.

They were suddenly much closer than before, and the Doctor looked surprised, glancing down at their joined hands and then back up to scan Yaz’s face. She quickly settled, her face splitting into a wide smile as she tightened her grip, and Yaz’s heartbeat sped up.

They stayed there, standing far too close to each other, and the Doctor broke the silence by gently nudging her. “You should – you should probably put that away,” she stammered in a way that was wholly endearing, indicating the rock still held in Yaz’s hand, “So you don’t drop it. Not that you make a habit of dropping things, that’s much more me, but just in case - ”

Yaz nodded, slowly taking her hand back and tucking the rock into her jacket pocket, but she didn’t move away, staying right where she was and letting go of the Doctor’s hand to hook her fingers around one of her suspenders. She could feel the Doctor’s chest rising and falling and hear a quiet whistling sound singing through the air, the wind rustling through the grass at their feet, and she was unsure at what was driving her actions here.

“Yaz…” the Doctor whispered, displaying an uncharacteristic amount of uncertainty on her face as she blinked, words careful, “Can I… May I kiss you?”

In response, Yaz reached for her hand again and tugged her forward, smoothly stepping into the motion so they were pressed together, and the Doctor’s eyes were wide. She let go of her suspender to reach up and tangle her fingers in the Doctor’s hair at the base of her neck, taking a moment to revel in the softness, and then leaned in to press their lips together.

The Doctor kissed back, eager motions slowly relaxing as she looped her arm around Yaz’s waist and drew her even closer, and Yaz smiled.

-

Above them, it began to rain.


End file.
